We celebrated the 50th anniversary of the laser in 2010, a product of basic physics research. During the first 2 or 3 decades after the invention of the laser, it was commonly described as “a solution looking for a problem.” Today the laser is ubiquitous in our lives. You may have used several today without realizing it. I will briefly describe three applications at the NDSU Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering that you likely wouldn’t associate with lasers: tracking 1-10 micron diameter particles in an aerosol beam traveling at velocities up to 100 m/s; transferring ultrathin silicon integrated circuit chips, and annealing amorphous silicon thin films. I will also describe the joint Physics/Electrical and Computer Engineering photonics sequence of courses offered at NDSU that are available to MSUM students through the Tri-College. Please watch the video Lasers: Transforming Life and skim through the laser applications described.